Ronan Mullarney in Challenge Tour action in South Africa

Galway’s Ronan Mullarney is 1 under par after his opening round at the SDC Open, the first event of the new Challenge Tour season in South Africa. Mullarney was flying at 4 under after 12 holes, but a bogey and double-bogey in his last 3 holes saw him drop back to 1 under. Ronan made the step up to the Challenge Tour after a very consistent year on the Alps Tour that saw him top the Order of Merit after the Grand Final with two wins on the tour. Elsewhere today, Waterford’s Gary Hurley finished on 4 under, with South African Wilco Nienaber leading on 8 under.

SDC Open Round 1 leaderboard:

1st Wilco Nienaber (SA) -8

2nd Chris Paisley (Eng) -7, Angel Ayora (Esp) -7

10th Gary Hurley -4

50th Ronan Mullarney -1